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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A light and fluffy homemade pistolette French roll, suitable as both a side bread, or for sandwiches.

Homemade Pistolette Sandwich Rolls

After being on a roll here (haha!) lately to try and find the perfect-for-me roll that could serve as both a dinner roll and a sandwich roll I have finally found it! I have made this batch multiple times and this is now my go to sandwich roll. It's not hard at all and it makes a beautiful roll.

Do use bread flour though. I once accidentally grabbed the wrong canister and used regular all purpose flour. The rolls were certainly still good, but they were more dense and not as light and fluffy as they were with the bread flour. I know a lot of people don't like to keep multiple flours around, but sometimes the kind of flour really does make a difference in a recipe, and particularly in the crumb of a bread. I keep all purpose, self rising and bread flour out all the time, with wheat in the freezer, though you can certainly store all of them in the freezer if you don't happen to cook often with them.

These are great for a roll for dinner, to make sandwiches, and may also be shaped into a larger loaf, if you prefer. Here's how to make them.

Proof the yeast by combining with the warm water and a pinch of sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes. Put the bread flour in your mixer bowl and stir in the water and yeast mixture. Cover the entire mixer bowl with a thick towel and let sponge bubble up for 2 hours. Okay to stir down if it begins to bubble up out of the bowl.

To the sponge, add the water, honey, olive oil, salt and flour; stir to combine. Using dough hook, knead on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes until you have a good, elastic dough. Remove dough hook, spray top of dough with non-stick spray and cover entire mixer with a large, clear plastic bag and allow to rise 45 to 90 minutes or until about doubled.

Cover a baking pan with quick spritz of non stick spray and place a sheet of parchment paper in the pan. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and pull off 12 equal pieces of dough. Shape into oval rolls and place on parchment paper about an inch or so apart. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place on top of rolls to keep them from drying out and set in a draft free spot to allow to rise about 20 to 30 minutes until they puff up.

Preheat oven in the meantime to 400 degrees F. If a crusty bottom is desired, place a baking stone in the lowest part of the oven when you preheat. You may also score rolls across the top or snip with scissors for a decorative affect if desired.

Before placing the rolls in the oven, spritz them very lightly with water, place in oven and spritz inside of oven also to create a more crispy crust. For softer and shiny rolls, brush tops with melted butter or oil before baking.

Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until rolls are brown.

Cook's Notes: Do use bread flour. I accidentally grabbed the wrong canister once and use regular all purpose and while the rolls were good, they were more dense and not as light and fluffy. The right flour does make a difference!

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I have a question about the roll recipe. Have you tried converting it to two loaves? And if you have how did it turn out? I have been thinking that I would like to try it, and then make one loaf like your cheesy garlic bread recipe and save the other for subs. What do you think?

This is the easiest and tastiest bread I've made in a long time. It's my new favorite and I don't see why I would ever have to fuss with another recipe. So easy! So good! And I gotta tell ya, they do go great on the side of your seafood gumbo recipe. 5 stars!

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